#2 Conte’s fascinating experiments with formation
In the absence of Victor Moses, Antonio Conte was compelled to start with a slightly modified version of his usual formation. While Pedro was deployed in place of Moses, Fabregas and Eden Hazard sat a little further back behind Diego Costa to make up for the gaps in the side. Armoured to the hilt with some of their best attackers, it started off according to the script for the hosts when they scored early, alas, that remained the highest point of their night.
When referee Craig Pawson blew to signal half-time, a Chelsea equaliser seemed inevitable especially after the magnificent half Eden Hazard had but it just never transpired. Conte turned up the heat on Sam Allardyce’s men even further when he substituted Nemanja Matic in favour of Willian followed up by Michy Batshuayi’s appearance in place of Marcos Alonso. As impressive as their lineup looked, it could not break through Palace’s dogged defending.
With just three natural defenders on the pitch, Chelsea gave it all for all 100 minutes of the game but left empty-handed while Palace fans were beside themselves after their fourth consecutive win in the league. The former Juventus manager even introduced Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the mix in the 96th minute but by then he should have known the token change was futile.
